My wife and I live in Utah and we inherited the wife's mother’s house in Kansas City (MO) after her passing about 10 years ago. We have had good renters and bad renters. The last two tenants have been pure shit. The current tenant burnt down an outside storage shed last week. We are in the process of getting them out as I write this. Here's the problem, it will take us a while to get the house ready for the next renter. We are a bit worried about leaving the house vacant for a month or two although it is in a reasonably good area.

We are thinking about outdoor cameras to cover all four all four outside walls. Maybe motion detectors inside the house. (We're checking the legality of this right now) If all goes as planned what cameras would be a good choice? Are there game cameras that we could put in trees that can connect wirelessly? Our property has plenty of trees. Any advice from members that have set up security systems for their home or rental unit(s) would be very much appreciated. We are currently researching options but are completely clueless on a good plan.

Thanks in advance.

Edit: The house is about 1800 square feet and rectangular in shape. No odd corners. Pretty simple layout.

Is there wifi or other internet access at the house? Are you looking for something you can watch in real time or just refer back to if something happens?

quote:

Originally posted by ryan81986:
Is there wifi or other internet access at the house? Are you looking for something you can watch in real time or just refer back to if something happens?

There is internet access and we are willing to pay for it and include it in the rent with the next renters. Real time is a requirement for us. We are a bit worried about false alarms but are willing to allow for a "dial it in" time.

I’d be very surprised if you find tenants that would be interested in renting a house that has your cameras installed inside, if that’s what you mean by “motion detectors”. Maybe you’re just talking about an alarm system.

In fact I’m not sure they’ll have any enthusiasm for cameras outside, either. Based on my experience as a landlord over the last 25 years, which I have about had enough of.

But yes, there are game cameras that send alerts and pictures via cell service.

I am in the Amazon/ring/blink and the Tp-link Kasa eco systems.

Both work without a problem. I have cameras from both.

Look at the cameras features and compare prices.

ADT is a security company that is really getting more competitive with systems and pricing with 24 monitored security.

If you are going with a subscription I would go with Amazon or ADT.

Amazon is basically equipment and storage with automated alerts and ADT is live eyes on your stuff last I checked.

amazon Blink is about $100 year and ADT is $50-$75 a month.

Amazon also has ring subscriptions.

https://www.security.org/secur...meras/blink-vs-ring/

YMMV

I have a bunch of Amcrest cameras on my home. I have both POE and wifi that require being plugged into an outlet.

This is one of the wifi ones: https://www.amazon.com/Amcrest...t%2Caps%2C188&sr=8-4

And this is what I have for POE: https://www.amazon.com/Amcrest...%2Caps%2C188&sr=8-20

Although in hard to reach places I'd recommend a bullet camera over a dome. I bought the domes because I prefer the look of them, but the dome can get dirty which clouds the image at night.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
I’d be very surprised if you find tenants that would be interested in renting a house that has your cameras installed inside, if that’s what you mean by “motion detectors”. Maybe you’re just talking about an alarm system.

In fact I’m not sure they’ll have any enthusiasm for cameras outside, either. Based on my experience as a landlord over the last 25 years, which I have about had enough of.

But yes, there are game cameras that send alerts and pictures via cell service.

We are not going to install cameras inside the house. Just outside. Maybe motion detectors inside depending on MO law. Possibly remove them right before tenants move in. We've also thought about removing or covering cameras once someone moves in. The problem we are trying to avoid is the ex renter coming back and damaging the property after being evicted.

You live in Utah and your rental property is in Missouri.... I would hope you realize a possible better option... SELL!

Dome cameras, especially the wide angle ones don't work well with the inferred lights....

Sig2392 and Ryan81296. Thanks for the responses. Very helpful. The wife and I were doing some research yesterday. We've seen some cameras that advertise 2 year batteries. The outside power in the house is somewhat limited although we could run lines to the camera spots if needed. Do either of you have experience with long life batteries. 2 years seems like a long time. I'm assuming the cameras only operate when motion is detected?

quote:

Originally posted by Blume9mm:
You live in Utah and your rental property is in Missouri.... I would hope you realize a possible better option... SELL!

Trust me we have thought about that. We are both close to retirement and are considering moving back to KC. For a big city folks are really nice and helpful plus we like the area. My wife grew up there. In the meantime it is a pain in the ass but it does net a decent profit since we inherited the house.

Thanks for the response Blume, the dome vs bullet is exactly the kind of info we are looking for. We really want to do it right the first time.

Ring cameras have come along way. I have 5-motion cameras (wi-fi) and could not be happier with their performance. Real time alerts with video.

quote:

Originally posted by urbanwarrior238:
Ring cameras have come along way. I have 5-motion cameras (wi-fi) and could not be happier with their performance. Real time alerts with video.

Same here. We have 4 and you can set them up to be sensitive enough to alert if a cat walks through the yard.
3 of the 4 charge from solar panels.

quote:

Originally posted by KMitch200:

quote:

Originally posted by urbanwarrior238:
Ring cameras have come along way. I have 5-motion cameras (wi-fi) and could not be happier with their performance. Real time alerts with video.

Same here. We have 4 and you can set them up to be sensitive enough to alert if a cat walks through the yard.
3 of the 4 charge from solar panels.

Central AZ? I'm guessing you folks have a few more overcast days than say Phoenix? Have you ever had say a week of weather where the batteries got minimal charging? Just wondering if solar would be practical in KC climate.

I use ARLO, similar to Ring etc,

relatively inexpensive,

my outside cameras for my shop have hard mounts, as in a bracket screwed in, (the indoor mounts are magnetic) and I have a small solar panel for each so the batteries stay charged,

you can adjust the 'scan area' and what it reports to you, as well as go with a monthly service for them (I think mine is $15 a month)


one on each corner should do for the basics, and a door bell type

they are relatively small, and see well at night

MIL passes in NV, we live in NC. Realtor in NV said to use Ring cameras to monitor inside and outside - which we did. Plug in Cameras in the interior and battery with solar panel chargers on the exterior. Programmed to ping when any activity occurred. Relator made sure any prospective buyers knew the cameras were in place - if they flaked - oh well. Thankfully nothing happened but other houses in the area were hit with squatters.

quote:

I use ARLO, similar to Ring etc,

relatively inexpensive,

my outside cameras for my shop have hard mounts, as in a bracket screwed in, (the indoor mounts are magnetic) and I have a small solar panel for each so the batteries stay charged,

you can adjust the 'scan area' and what it reports to you, as well as go with a monthly service for them (I think mine is $15 a month)
one on each corner should do for the basics, and a door bell type
they are relatively small, and see well at night

I have an Arlo Ultra system and Arlo video cam doorbell; also their hub. Also use solar panels, but they are Wasserstein brand, bought from Amazon. I subscribe to the Arlo monthly service. I can set notifications, set desired window in camera view area, much more. Has been 100% reliable, and (in San Diego with lots of sun) solar panels have been all I've needed. Costco often has deals on Arlo camera/hub kits.

Thanks for the reply's everyone. They are really helpful. We're leaning ring, hard power wired, wifi, bullet cameras. We're still researching which ones. We're also thinking "stick up" motion sensors for inside the house. Maybe easily removed cameras inside the house too after reading behindyou's post. Thanks again for the reply's.

We have several RING cameras at our home, and will be installing them in our next home which we move to soon. They are powered by RING solar panels and work great. Ring has a decent subscription plan for multiple cameras.

The caveat is Ring cameras have wide angle lenses which then don't give great facial detail unless the person is close to it. The upside is the wide angle covers the view very well. The camera by the front door is about 10 feet away, and it shows the person from shoes to hat.

The motion detection works well and is adjustable.

As to the rental, you can certainly have cameras inside the home before new renters move in.

I have 8 battery-powered Blink cameras outside my home as well as a few connected to AC inside and the garage.


They have been installed for 27 months and only changed batteries on one of them.

quote:

Originally posted by Bytes:
Thanks for the reply's everyone. They are really helpful. We're leaning ring, hard power wired, wifi, bullet cameras. We're still researching which ones. We're also thinking "stick up" motion sensors for inside the house. Maybe easily removed cameras inside the house too after reading behindyou's post. Thanks again for the reply's.

the ARLO's use a small plastic clip that screws in the wall or ceiling, and the base slides or clicks over it,

if you decided to remove, clean up or cover up would be a breeze